brickarts295 wrote:I did remember telling my mother back when Nolan lost Best Director that he would only win an Oscar if he made a WW2 flick.
And here we are

GOD I'm still salty that he lost that year or didn't get nom for TDK

Well how about that, he might get one next year O_o

I re-evaluated my initial predictions.

Nomination chances:

Best Sound Mixing (100%)
Best Sound Editing (100%)
Best Picture (100%)
Best Film Editing (95%)
Best Cinematography (90%)
Best Director (80%) - lowered by 5%
Best Original Screenplay (70%) - lowered by 10%
Best Visual Effects (50%)
Best Original Score (40%) - lowered by 10%
Best Production Design (30%)
Best Costume Design (20%)
Best Actor In A Supporting Role (5%)
Best Make-Up and Hairstyling (0%)

Winning chances:

Best Sound Mixing (100%)
Best Sound Editing (100%)
Best Cinematography (80%)
Best Director (70%)
Best Film Editing (60%)
Best Picture (0%)
Best Original Screenplay (0%)
Best Visual Effects (0%)
Best Original Score (0%)
Best Production Design (0%)
Best Costume Design (0%)
Best Actor In A Supporting Role (0%)
Best Make-Up and Hairstyling (0%)

Christopher Nolan has a complicated history with the Oscars — 'Dunkirk' might end that

Christopher Nolan, the cross-cut-happy auteur behind artistically ambitious, hugely expensive box-office behemoths like “Inception” and the “Dark Knight” trilogy, has never earned an Oscar nomination as a director.

Fanboys and some cineastes would call that omission a grievous oversight. Nolan’s detractors would cite it as a rare example of good taste on the part of the film academy.

Expect the debate to continue this year, though the discussion might be a bit more one-sided.

Nolan’s latest film, the war movie “Dunkirk,” opened this weekend to rapturous reviews and a better-than-expected box office take of $50.5 million. The eagerness to see “Dunkirk” extended to Oscar voters, who packed the film academy’s 1,000-seat Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on Saturday night looking to see if the picture, presented in glorious 70mm, lived up to the hype.

Even considering that at this time of year academy members can bring up to three guests to screenings, the early evening line snaking blocks around the Goldwyn indicated a high level of anticipation. The turn-away crowd for the 7:30 p.m. show resulted in the academy adding a second presentation at 10 p.m.

When “Dunkirk” ended and the credits rolled, Nolan’s name elicited a roar of approval and the majority of the audience — perhaps unaccustomed to a Nolan movie running under two hours — stayed in their seats until the lights came up.

Afterward, academy members — those able to articulate their thoughts after the grueling film — expressed admiration, calling it a “tour de force,” “gut-wrenching,“ “astonishing,” “extraordinary” and, yes, a “masterpiece.” Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (BAFTA-nominated for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “Interstellar,” but still looking for his first Oscar nod), composer Hans Zimmer and the film’s sound design team were singled out.

The teenage daughter of a screenwriter academy member pointed out that Harry Styles deserved an Oscar for his portrayal of a British soldier. In a reversal of custom, it was the dad, not the adolescent, rolling his eyes.

And yet, though many critics cited “Dunkirk” as the Nolan movie that might convert non-believers (leaner run time, expository dialogue kept to a minimum), some Oscar voters left the Goldwyn without the scales falling from their eyes.

The film’s elastic structure — “Dunkirk” flits between three sections (air, land and sea) taking place in different locations and (mostly) different time frames during the 1940 rescue of Allied troops caught between advancing German forces and the French coast — irked some.

“I know this guy [Nolan] is incapable of telling a story in a linear fashion,” an Oscar-nominated producer complained, noting Nolan’s signature for scrambling time in his movies, “but the results are never as meaningful as he thinks they are.”

“It’s confusing,” added his companion. “And it distances you from what’s happening on the screen. I’ve always found his movies soulless.”

The academy hasn’t completely ignored Nolan over the years, nominating him twice for writing (“Memento,” “Inception”) and giving “Inception” a best picture nod in 2011. The “Inception” nomination came during the two-year window in which Oscar voters selected a fixed 10 movies for best picture, a shift many attribute to the outrage over Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” not being nominated in 2009.

For the last six years, the academy has asked voters to list five movies, not 10, on their ballots resulting in a best picture slate that has varied between eight and nine movies, depending on how members rank the films. Nolan’s last picture, “Interstellar,” released in 2014 in the thick of awards season, failed to earn a nomination. “Dunkirk” returns the filmmaker to a familiar summer movie battleground, with box office, not the Oscars, being the primary focus — for now.

On that front, “Dunkirk” has already scored a victory. The academy’s initial reaction, largely mirroring critics’ ecstatic reviews, signals that a long campaign to the Oscars is likely in the offing.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/en ... story.html

"Soulless"? Oh, God.

In addition to its theatrical release, “Dunkirk” had its official Academy voters screening on Saturday night in Beverly Hills. To all reports it drew a completely packed and raptly attentive house to the 1,000-seat Samuel Goldwyn Theater, and when it ended the film was met with sustained applause that lasted through much of the credits.

http://www.thewrap.com/dunkirk-and-detr ... nth-early/

MyCocaine wrote:

In addition to its theatrical release, “Dunkirk” had its official Academy voters screening on Saturday night in Beverly Hills. To all reports it drew a completely packed and raptly attentive house to the 1,000-seat Samuel Goldwyn Theater, and when it ended the film was met with sustained applause that lasted through much of the credits.

http://www.thewrap.com/dunkirk-and-detr ... nth-early/

Oh shit!

Sounds promising! To be honest, (without having seen it yet) if it's one summer movie that has a great shot at not being forgotten come Oscar season, it should be this one. Sounds like it's gonna stick with people for a long time.

If Inception got the Best Pic nomination (with the reception it got), Dunkirk will get it as well.
Dunkirk will probably be like Fury Road and Gravity and sweep the technical awards.

Cinematography (45% win): This year is gonna be between Hoyte and Deakins, my guess would be Deakins because BR is probably gonna be 'flashier' and Deakins is overdue for one.

Editing (80% win): All the stories connected wonderfully and the cross cutting masterfully done. The frontrunner for now, which isn't saying much.

Score (60% win): In contrast to a lot of other people here, i think Zimmer's score can win. The score's chances for an oscar should be determined by how well it played in the movie, and in that case, it worked perfectly. Again, the score showdown for now would be, like cinematography, between BR2049 (Johansson won't disappoint) and Dunkirk.

Directing (40% win, but really this one's impossible to guess this early): The last few years, the academy gave the oscar to a film where the technical mastery dominated the picture like Gravity, Revenant and Life of Pi, so Nolan could have a chance, but i think this is going to be like Fury Road where someone else is gonna get it. Also, PTA, Aronofsky and Bigelow (first Detroit reviews are looking pretty good) are back this year, so it's gonna be tuff, but the nom is almost certain.

Best Picture (15% win): Like i said at the beginning, if Inception got the best pic nod, Dunkirk should be a lock for this one.
Probably not gonna win though.

Sound (100% win): Seems to be a lock to win right now in both categories.

Acting (0%): Maaaybe Rylance? Would love it if Hardy gets the nom. But almost certain there won't be any nominations for acting here.

Production design: Maybe? I honestly don't know, but since everything looked great (location and set dressing wise), i'd say it got a decent chance for a nomination.

Incapable of linear storytelling? That is one ignorant statement. "Unwilling" is a much better word to use. But anyway, not surprising that the structure is off-putting to numerous people in the Academy.

While I don't think Nolan is incapable of linear storytelling, I'd like him to actually do it sooner or later. I'm curious how he'll pull it off. I mean just because someone is great at non-linear storytelling that doesn't mean he's just as good when it comes to the opposite. It's not easier to be successful inside the spectrum of linear storytelling by any stretch of the imagination.